LLL

I'm officially in training to become a La Leche League leader and should be done pretty soon.  My mentor has been great about challenging me but also recognizing that I have lots of personal and professional experience, so we get to gracefully speed along.

Along the way, I found out that there are two other women who want to start a group in the area.  One is in Hayward and one is in Castro Valley.  We're each vying to have the group start in our city.  Hmm, wonder who will win?  Either way, we're all planning to be co-leaders together, which is awesome.

I guess it doesn't really matter where we set up, as long as get a group in the area again.  I'm excited to focus on breastfeeding support but also a bit weary because it can be so difficult to help emotional women.  As a leader, I can do support by phone, email, or in home visits.  For being a LLL leader for one year, I get half the clinical hours I need to document to become a lactation consultant.  The other half of the clinical hours I can get from midwifery births and postpartum visits.  The IBCLC is my goal, but LLL seems like it will be a fun stop along the way.

I wonder what it will be like to work with families coming out of San Leandro Kaiser?  They're supposed to be Baby-Friendly, but I know there's still some shady stuff going on there, like nurses slipping brand new moms formula because their babies are hard to wake to nurse.  I wish they'd knock that sh** off and provide actual support instead.

Anyway, I'm excited about my new adventure!